Ugh! I hate when this happens!

[Slothead56]

Just finished 2 hours of playing through a set list for an upcoming gig (yay!).

3 different guitars, which typically all sound great, and all three sucked tonight. Humidity is good, strings are newish...they just all sounded bad.

I know they are great sounding guitars. Two have been with me for 10+ and 20+ years and are seasoned performers.

Tomorrow’s another day...maybe we all need a good nights sleep.

[Wade Hampton]

Sometimes we all just have bad nights. I suspect that your perception is what's making them sound bad to you, not the guitars themselves....


whm

[Mandobart]

All three sounded bad? Played by the same person? Fascinating.....

What's it like? I've never experienced this.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

Originally Posted by Slothead56

a good nights sleep.

Some days the pegs are square and the holes are round.

[Godfather]

Tomorrow is another day.....see how they sound then.

Today my Taylor sounds better than ever. Strings are 6 weeks old but in the last two weeks the humidity has dropped to 45% from 52%. I am confident this is why.

[Black Squirrel]

Im sure it sounded great 5 feet in front of the guitar, sometimes our ears lie.

[steelvibe]

Finicky guitars are kinda like when you start having kids. As my wife says, "The days are long but the years are short."

[edward993]

Yup, every guitar sounds bad on “those” days, BTDT. And we know it’s not the instruments but just “those” times when the hands don’t cooperate or the brain is elsewhere. Tomorrow is another opportunity to make it right. Frustrating, to be sure. But it reminds me that good music, like anything genuinely good, comes with work over time. The rewards of achievement are worth it! We all know this, of course, but sometimes a reminder helps

Edward

[RalphH]

Yep I have days like that. It's harder for me to know if it's me or the guitar,as I only really have one, but for you... well, there's only one common variable here

[Robin, Wales]

I sometimes forget just how much playing guitar and singing are physical skills. Equating playing guitar to playing golf is not just a metaphor, it is a close comparison.

Both require perfect timing and micro adjustment of both large and small muscle groups. The movements are too fast and complex to be cognitive, they must be controlled by the non-conscious and set in motion through muscle memory.

Stress (performance anxiety) will have an impact on our muscle movement and awareness (points of focus and sensory feedback).

You have an upcoming gig. There will be an element of performance anxiety. You will be lifting aspects of your playing that your non-conscious has quite happily been working back up into the cognitive part of the brain and your awareness will be hightened. Your micro movements will be slightly off and your focus of attention will be taking up cognitive capacity that normally provides you the space for the nuance of your performance.

Yep, your hands and your ears were having a bad day (most likely due to just a touch of stress). A good night's sleep and both you and your guitars will be back on form.

Have a great gig!

[llew]

It happens. Some nights I've decided I'm selling a guitar only to pick it up in the morning and think to myself..."Are you crazy?" I had a very similar post to your's not that long ago. Evidently a lot of factors play into our perception of how our guitars sound. Fatigue (especially at night) can play a huge part in this.
Play all three today and see how they sound to you. My guess is there will be a noticeable difference...

[bufflehead]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

There will be an element of performance anxiety.

Sounds like a fair diagnosis. I think a lot of us will be going through this as we re-enter the gig scene.

My advice: don't blame it on the guitars. Blame it on the picks.

There's probably a less-expensive plectrum hiding deep in your guitar case, the type you haven't used in years, that will save the day. Find it.

[Slothead56]

Originally Posted by bufflehead

Sounds like a fair diagnosis. I think a lot of us will be going through this as we re-enter the gig scene.

My advice: don't blame it on the guitars. Blame it on the picks.

There's probably a less-expensive plectrum hiding deep in your guitar case, the type you haven't used in years, that will save the day. Find it.

OP here. I’m excited to get out and play again but I’ve been at this a long time. (My first public performance was a solo in church at 4 years old.)

Amused by the pick comment. Been playIn for almost 50 years and have never used anything other than a Fender Medium, typically faux tortoise.

[H165]

If you've stressed your hearing before doing the work, everything will sound bad. Was your day filled with a bunch of racket?

[Doranged]

I had a day like that recently. Practicing my sets for a marina gig. Miked up and plugged in. Just didn’t sound right. Singing and playing were a little off. My wife said you sound a little off. I quit playing as it felt like a chore. The next day everything was fine.